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Showing posts from March, 2010

Thoughts on the Repentance of David and Peter

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Recently, in my time with the Lord, I read from from I Chronicles 10. The Lord instructed me about the comparison of the lives of Saul and David and also Peter and Judas with reference to their repentance . . . I don’t have time to develop this but here are a few thoughts: 1. Fear a repentance composed of seeking man’s forgiveness and not God’s. Saul’s repentance sounds good in word. But there are no tears or remorse and there are several egregious sins over an extended period of time only once do we read of repentance. In that time of repentance (I Samuel 15) the words sound good but they are really superficial. There is a lack of acknowledging the sin to God. Saul speaks to Samuel and seems to be afraid to speak with His God (He says to Samuel “Pardon my sin”). David has no go between. He says, “against you and you only have I sinned and done this evil.” Saul’s seems tied to his position before the elders of Israel (I Samuel 15:30) 2. Fear a tearless repentance. In both David (Psa

Great Article on the Resurrection

My good friend and co-pastor, John, did a great job presenting the Gospel in an article on the resurrection: www.nycgrace.org/resurrection

Why NYC?

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Would he have heard the Gospel if he had not moved to the NYC? I spent 45 minutes one morning sharing the gospel with Felipe, a man who was born in Venezuela and had only in the US for a period of 10 years or so. Although originally a violent man, an alcoholic, he has been attending services and many outward changes show that he has had an inward change. I believe Felipe’s changes have come from the inside out; his new birth through faith in Jesus has changed him eternally. There are millions of others like Felipe in NYC that must be reached. They are the mission field among us. God is glorified when we reach the mission fields of NYC. My first experiences in NYC as a sophomore in College were life-changing. I was so moved by the multitudes of people that teamed in this melting pot of the world - so many people, so diverse! How can I reach them? In the years since that time, as I have ministered in the city I have observed this same reaction in nearly everyone that I chauffeur around

Why Join a Church?

We appended this to the end of our church doctrinal statement and constitution: Why Join a Church? Why would you want to join a church? Our culture is afraid of commitment. It is sad that people let this mindset deter them from joining a church. It is true that you can continue to attend Grace as you are now and enjoy the building up that comes from the fellowship of believers, the worship of God, and the teaching/preaching of His Word. But we would encourage you to think through the following reasons to join Grace Baptist Church. 1. Follow a Biblical Model: Church membership is not commanded in the New Testament. But the organization involved in a local body was similar to our practice of church membership. Consider the following examples: First, in the early church those who became believers were added to the group of Christians (Acts 2:41-42, 5:14, 11:24). This is mentioned three times in Acts but this first time is very instructive because it is at the beginning of the chu